Novelists Beware.
The Tailor’s Needle, my debut novel, was published in the UK in 2009 but the publisher closed shop soon after and then it was published in India by Penguin in Dec. 2012. It is selling well and yet my UK agent is now trying to have it purchased by a UK publisher along with my second novel, Emancipation. This means that The Tailor’s Needle needs to be published a third time, by a third publisher. Why?
The answer to this contains a great deal about the current scenario in publishing. I got my agent after my novel was published by Penguin. As a result, the contract I signed with them was as disadvantageous for me as was possible. Writers rarely manage to sign agreements that spell profit for them. That is a why an agent is so necessary to have with you at the time the publisher and author decide what each is to get from the deal.
A big publisher is attractive for the author but it shouldn’t be forgotten that such a publisher will do little for the new author unless there is some guarantee that the book will sell thunderously well. Without an agent the publisher dictates terms that the author accepts sheepishly and then the publisher gorges while the author starves.
Most readers of The Tailor’s Needle have told me that the book contains an epic film in it. But Penguin India are little bothered. My agent is trying to rope in the film makers that she has contacts with. So the scene now is this. I must wait for things to start happening right till she can find a third publisher to buy all rights from Penguin and then alone will the journey of my debut novel begin smoothly.
It took me seven years to write The Tailor’s Needle and just a little while to spoil its prospects. Novelists beware. Try not to sign the contract without the help of an agent.
Since I don't depend on my writing for a livelihood, I'm not concerned about income from any of my intellectual property. However, that doesn't mean that I want it stolen from me either. I think to have success and to have your written work well known and respected is far more important than the money that it makes. I hope that authors will understand that. I realize that money talks and everything else walks, but perhaps it shouldn't.
Congratulations on your success. I will read Tailor's Needle when I get the chance. My time is so limited to read with my writing and helping others by editing their books and encouraging them.
Ron